VERMILLION, S.D.—South Dakota is the No. 3 seed in the FCS playoff bracket revealed Sunday. The Coyotes will host the winner of Sacramento State (7-4) and North Dakota (7-4) at 1 p.m. inside the DakotaDome Dec. 2 in the round of 16. That game will be shown on ESPN+.
 
It is the program's third FCS playoff appearance and seventh NCAA playoff appearance overall. The Coyotes first competed in the FCS playoffs in 2017 and beat Nicholls in Louisiana in round one before falling to Sam Houston State in Texas in round two. South Dakota dropped a first-round game to Southern Illinois in Vermillion in 2021.
 
South Dakota has received a top-eight seed for the first time. It comes with a first-round bye and the guaranteed home game. Should the Coyotes prevail in their game Dec. 2, they would host a quarterfinal contest in the DakotaDome Dec. 9.
 
The Coyotes finished the regular season with a program-record nine FCS wins. Their two losses are to nationally-ranked Missouri of the SEC and South Dakota State, the overall No. 1 seed in the FCS playoffs. South Dakota's resume includes four wins against nationally-ranked teams. Three of those were ranked in the top-10.
 
South Dakota beat North Dakota 14-10 in Vermillion back on Nov. 11. It was the 101^st meeting between the two programs. The Coyotes have never faced Sacramento State.
 
Head coach Bob Nielson is taking his 13^th team to the NCAA playoffs in 31 seasons as a head coach. He won NCAA Division II national championships with Minnesota Duluth in 2008 and 2010. This is his fourth time leading a team to the FCS playoffs. He first appeared with Western Illinois in 2015 and led the Leathernecks into the second round.
 
The DakotaDome has hosted four NCAA playoff games, but the 2021 contest was its first since 1986.
 
Tickets: Playoff tickets will go on sale at 1 p.m. Sunday for season ticket holders and Howling Pack members. Any remaining tickets will be made available to the general public at 9 a.m. Wednesday and will be available at GoYotes.com/tickets.